Fallen In Light
by horsecrazy2
Summary: Sequel to Into The Dark
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Drumroll please! Didn't I say I had a sequel ready to go? :D Also, sorry for the long wait, guys! I was having difficulties logging in. This would have been up days ago, but I only just found out how to fix the problem.  
  
Disclaimer: All aspects of Tomb Raider belong to Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. This means that, sadly, Kurtis is not mine. *Sniff*  
  
Prologue  
  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
Streets  
  
Rome, Italy, May 15th, 2004  
  
She surged panting through undulating shadows, her passage marked only by the soft thunk of booted feet on stone. The chill night air snaked to kiss exposed flesh, raising goosebumps against otherwise unblemished flesh. Dark hair, glistening beneath the moon's glittering touch, whipped at her back in a single thick cord.  
  
The brisk spring night did nothing to deter the sprinting woman, its cold instead invigorating her, driving her to speeds enviable by most other human beings. Both toned arms pumped at either side of her athletic body, a smile flitting briefly across a seductively curved mouth.  
  
She loosened the weapon at her side, and dodged around a silent building, mahogany gaze settling on the Harley Sportster 883 gleaming in wait only a few feet away.  
  
Her hasty flight paused only a moment; she stumbled to a halt to fumble in the front pocket of the dark shorts encasing well-rounded hips, and withdrew the keys to her bike.  
  
*So far so good.* she thought, and vaulted easily onto the machine.  
  
The engine thrummed to life, its throaty purr rumbling beneath shapely legs. *I suppose they didn't follow me after all.*  
  
The better for them, then, if they hadn't tempted fate and pursued the one- woman arsenal through dark alleys where not a soul would hear them scream when she took their lives.  
  
Smiling again, a touch of wicked delight in the curve of plump lips, she removed the coveted item from a pouch on the gunbelt encircling her slender waist.  
  
It appeared harmless, unimportant even, but the small computer diskette contained the key to an enormous void in her life. A journal typed and composed on her dead mentor's computer and saved to disk, a document following every possible lead and investigation into the disappearance of renowned archaeologist Lara Croft after a tragic accident in Egypt almost two years ago. She hoped, with the help of this disk, pilfered from an associate of Von Croy's who'd been rather reluctant to give it up, to piece together her broken life. *It'll be nice to finally have a little stability again. None of that soul-searching shit, of course, but I'd like to know the whole story.*  
  
She touched the square object to full lips in a soft kiss, and with another satisfied smirk, slipped it once more into its resting place.  
  
1000 cc's of power thundered beneath the bare flesh of her thighs. She revved the engine, taking pleasure in its masculine cry, and shifted smoothly into gear.  
  
Not far away, unnoticed by Lara, a lone figure quietly smoked, one strong shoulder resting against hard brick. The man observed her vehicle, memorizing its shape, color, and license plate as she sped away, his intense gaze never once straying to the indistinct figure perched atop it.  
  
Then, as she disappeared into surrounding blackness, he stole quietly to his own motorcycle, and roared off down the alleyway after her.  
  
* * *  
  
She sensed his presence only a minute or so later.  
  
Immediately, Lara swerved onto a narrow side road, the bike's tires squealing in protest at the abrupt maneuver. She leaned into the turn, riding it out, moving easily with her vehicle until it righted itself once more. Dirt plumed upward, lifting in a hazy veil which would complicate things for her pursuer, though regrettably not enough to discourage him.  
  
The thunder of his own bike exploded behind her, disturbingly near.  
  
She opened the throttle and surged forward, bending low to avoid any bullets he might send her way. The road threaded between darkened buildings, continuing straight for an agonizing moment before veering into a treacherous corner around a silent office building.  
  
Lara took it at nearly 80 mph, braking only when she felt the bike begin to skid, its end fishtailing in protest to the high-speed chase. She pushed it onward, weaving through the darkness as the man tailing her screeched around the curve at a speed only slightly less than her own.  
  
*I hope you fall, bastard.*  
  
Her Sportster bumped down onto pavement once more. She blew through a stop sign without once tapping the brake, the chill breeze generated by the bike's speed flowing all around her, tearing at the gray T-shirt she'd donned that morning. She felt its thin material rippling around the corded muscles of her lithe body.  
  
Both motorcycles rounded another bend in the road, their riders expertly clinging to perspiration-slick handlebars.  
  
Glistening pavement streamed in a thin ebony ribbon beneath her.  
  
She swerved onto the sidewalk with a hard jerk of the handlebars, weaving amongst the street lights in a tight figure-eight pattern. Her fingertips touched chill steel, closing securely around the .38 Smith & Wesson revolver tucked into Lara's right holster. She prized the gun for its amazing accuracy and easy handling, and had chosen it for this little trip as opposed to heavier firepower, not expecting any heavy duty gunfights.  
  
Concentrating on the road, she reluctantly stayed an itchy trigger finger, and released her weapon. There was no need for it yet, and taking her eyes from the road to snap off a few shots at her new friend could prove fatal.  
  
She skidded into a sharp left turn, her boot nearly grazing cement as she reversed directions in a move that took her right past him. She tossed a friendly wave in passing, using only a single finger, not bothering to glance at his face.  
  
*Come and get me.*  
  
Excitement welled inside her, an adrenaline rush only something like this could produce, the dangers of living a life such as hers awakening a fire inside Lara as nothing else could. *Nothing except for the touch of a man you haven't seen in nine months and don't care to think about anymore.* she thought darkly, then savagely shook her head. Distractions were not welcome at this stage in the game.  
  
* * *  
  
He muttered a low curse as she accelerated past him, and slammed a hand down on the brake, the abrupt halt of forward momentum nearly hurling him over the handlebars. "Fuck." he said quietly, and spun his bike in a tight one- hundred-eighty degree circle.  
  
He lifted a hand into chill air, and half-stood, both muscular legs straddling his bike. Long lashes eclipsed intense orbs for a single moment, power humming within him.  
  
The man released it, a smirk creasing ruggedly handsome features as a sign swinging from a nearby building thundered down, clattering to a reluctant halt directly in front of the woman's tires.  
  
She braked hard, and swerved to avoid it, but not quickly enough.  
  
Her front tire caught the obstacle, thrusting the bike high into the air, her slender body arching far over the crumpled motorcycle. She dove toward hard pavement, knifing her body straight down, turning the fall into a somersault, her acrobatics depositing her neatly back onto booted feet.  
  
He smiled.  
  
She surged forward in a desperate sprint, arms pumping, sweat flowing thick.  
  
He gunned his engine.  
  
* * *  
  
Lara veered up onto the sidewalk as he neared, just evading his grasp as he slowed his bike to reach for her. She thrust a foot against the wall to her left, leaping upward in a magnificent show of athleticism, her lithe body turning a flip mid-air, a slender gloved hand drawing her revolver in the same fluid motion.  
  
She spun, and dropped to a crouch, her bullets puncturing one of his tires before he had a chance to swerve out of harm's way.  
  
The bike jerked violently, the vicious movement nearly hurling him over the machine to land in a broken pile on the road. He slammed a hand against the brake handle, sending the bike into a hard skid, rainwater pluming from the tires as they struggled for purchase against glistening pavement.  
  
He jumped free of it at precisely the right moment, clearing the wreckage with an ease that she had to admire.  
  
*But, too bad.* Lara thought, and raised her gun again. *I'm not going to give you a second chance to kill me.*  
  
The gun leapt free of her hand, snagged by an oddly-shaped object which thrust by her right ear too quickly for her to identify. She spun to the wall at her back, and froze, full lips parting in shock.  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
It lay pinned against hard brick, trapped by a series of blades protruding from an all-too-familiar discus, a brief fiery glow enveloping the Chirugai for a moment before dying into oblivion.  
  
Lara pivoted to face him, eyes wide in a pallid face.  
  
He gripped his Boran X one-handed now, its sights trained directly between her eyes.  
  
"Kurtis." she said quietly, at the same moment his thick eyebrows lifted in recognition.  
  
They peered at one another a moment, his firearm drooping limply to one side. Those brilliant orbs perused her face as coldly as ever, but a vague flash of uncertainty lingered briefly in their depths.  
  
She paced forward a step, the move unconscious, their warm bodies drawing nearer to one another. For a moment, she thought he would take a step forward as well. Then he lifted a strong hand, and the Chirugai trembled free of the wall.  
  
Lara's gun clattered to a reluctant rest at her feet.  
  
They held one another's gaze as he slowly backed away, the Glaive descending onto his waiting fingertips.  
  
He stared at her a moment longer, wordlessly, then lifted two fingers in a mock little salute she knew well, and with a brief, familiar smirk, disappeared into the surrounding night. 


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Croft Manor  
England, May 20th, 2004  
  
She propped booted feet on the table before her, moodily contemplating the swirling depths of the steaming beverage gripped in a white-knuckled hand. Through the window, Lara glimpsed streaming precipitation, the tempest raging outside shaking the window pane with its ferocity.  
  
She'd barricaded herself inside the library hours earlier, with express orders to Winston not to admit anyone. She didn't expect visitors anyway; there hadn't been many after Egypt and the following events in Paris. People feared her, she supposed, even after she'd been cleared of Von Croy's murder.  
  
Her faithful butler, after expressing concern for his mistress and being waved casually aside, had left her to her own thoughts, disturbing Lara only for a moment to bring her a cup of coffee.  
  
"I need to do some reading." she'd explained, fabricating some story about needing to research an important artifact which had recently been discovered in Antarctica. What she really mean by 'reading' was 'fume over an unexpected meeting with Kurtis Trent and sit staring blankly at a disk which might hold the answers to my past.' Neither seemed particularly appealing to her, but they were the only two actions she'd seemed capable of taking since arriving back at her home three days ago.  
  
*Why did *he* have to show his face again?* Lara raged silently, picturing him for what seemed to be the millionth time in the past five minutes. They hadn't set eyes on one another in almost a year; and suddenly there he was, alive and well, precisely as she'd remembered him.  
  
After her release from the hospital, Lara hadn't bothered attempting to track Kurtis down. She suspected the whole situation between them could be summed up as 'love at first sight,' as sappily Disney-like as that sounded. This realization, one she'd come to terms with a long time ago, displeased her to no end, and so she'd been more than happy to take her leave of Kurtis Trent, and forget such a man ever existed. Love had no place in her life.  
  
She'd heard nothing from him in the long period of time they'd been separated. He'd either been killed in his quest to destroy Karel, or had no wish to contact her. She'd suspected the latter; he seemed too much of a resilient little dick to be killed by Joachim Karel.  
  
He could have just as easily come to visit her, had he wished to; her whereabouts were not exactly secret. The fact that he hadn't revealed that his wishes exactly resembled hers; to just be left alone, a hardened, loner adventurer on their own with no constant companion.  
  
*And that's the way I like it.*  
  
Lara took a sip of the coffee, its burning warmth traversing her throat to settle hotly in the pit of her stomach. Restless, she set it aside, and retrieved the disk balanced precariously on one shapely knee.  
  
She twirled it slowly before her, tense features reflected in the circular metal plate embedded in its center. With an effort, Lara banished Kurtis completely from her mind, returning to the problem at hand.  
  
"Egypt." she sighed quietly. "What the hell happened in Egypt?" *A whole important section of my life is missing. Could this disk restore that? Could I use it to find out exactly what happened to me after the temple collapsed? What did Von Croy find out, before he was murdered?*  
  
Full lips curving downward, Lara shifted, upholstery whispering over sun- darkened flesh. She absently fingered the gun strapped to a statuesque thigh, lovingly tracing sleek metal curves.  
  
The disk hovered temptingly before her, gripped loosely between two slender fingers.  
  
It rotated slowly, lethargically as she contemplated it from each angle.  
  
Her dark gaze flicked swiftly to the laptop, lingering a moment, before skipping onward. A sigh parted sumptuous lips. Both eyes slipped briefly closed; then, standing, she set the disk aside and strode to the window.  
  
A small palm touched cool glass, resting lightly against its comforting solidity. She squinted into driving rain, staring into ambulant darkness a moment, before shutting the curtains in an abrupt, savage motion.  
  
* * *  
  
In the blackness, a single light flared.  
  
A lone figure hunched low against the raging storm, huddling against cold cement, dark hair clinging tenaciously to slick flesh. He glanced often to the light burning only a few feet away, its warm illumination piercing the gloomy night to softly paint muddy ground.  
  
The cigarette bucked restlessly in numb fingers.  
  
"Fucking pansy." he murmured, disgusted with himself. He knew the trembling was not due to the cold.  
  
Croft Manor towered far above his dark head, the majestic building startling him when he'd first pulled up to the gate, even though he'd known of her wealth.  
  
He'd arrived nearly an hour earlier, traversing the winding drive on his bike, throttling toward her home at low speed, apprehension thick in the pit of his stomach. Now he perched on her front step, saturated and miserable, moodily contemplating the past nine months. *The past nine Lara- free months. Do I really want her back in my life?*  
  
At first, he hadn't intended to ever see her again. When they'd parted in the hospital, that was to be it. No more Lara, no more distractions. No more attachments to another human being. He'd learned better than that.  
  
Their meeting five days ago changed everything.  
  
Lara's unexpected appearance, once again, had managed to royally fuck up his life in her usual flamboyant style. When he'd cornered her, drawn his gun on her for the third time, then looked into those familiar chestnut eyes, everything else had fled. All other sounds, smells, tastes...only she existed, and he hated her for that. No other adjective could adequately describe the loathing he'd experienced toward her for enthralling him so completely.  
  
He'd caught a plane to England, and broken speed limits driving to her mansion on his bike, only to find himself now too uncertain to knock on her damn door. Did he really want this? There was no legitimate reason to re- open the lines of communication. Karel had disappeared long ago, and Kurtis had busied himself working for semi-legal agencies who needed someone willing to go beyond desk work. He didn't need Lara's help, or her companionship.  
  
*No. I don't need it. Worse; I *want* it.* he thought, and scowled.  
  
Standing, Kurtis flicked the still-glowing cigarette butt into undulating shadows.  
  
His eyes drifted again to the lighted room a mere six feet away.  
  
Golden illumination flickered a moment as a slender figure passed before the window. Then it disappeared completely, obscured by the curtains thrust forcefully across rain-streaked glass.  
  
He stared a moment longer, water traversing the handsome planes of his face, before turning and walking resolutely to his waiting motorcycle.  
  
* * *  
  
It struck forcefully, plunging deep into gleaming wood.  
  
A brief smile graced full lips.  
  
Satisfaction swirled in her dark gaze, both keen eyes coming to rest on the knife handle protruding from a pockmarked section of wall above one of the bookcases. *Funny how destroying things always makes me feel a little better.*  
  
Crossing swiftly to the bookshelf, she leapt, pitting one booted foot against a bottom shelf and stretching lithely to retrieve the embedded weapon.  
  
She dropped once more with a light thud, and tossed the shining blade to the opposite hand, flipping it idly from palm to palm as she retreated to her previous position.  
  
The scored and ravaged wall served as a punching bag of sorts, an outlet for her frustration when she became agitated or needed to work out a problem in her mind. Throwing knives soothed her almost as much as handling her beloved guns, she'd come to learn, and since the weather was too nasty to be out in, much less attempting to best her latest time on the assault course, she'd turned instead to her blades.  
  
Hefting the weapon in a slender hand, Lara gripped its handle firmly, and raised her arm to hurl it several feet across the library.  
  
Her muscles tensed, then relaxed with the sudden fierce movement. The knife contacted with a satisfying thunk. She dusted her palms cockily, in a false show of bravado.  
  
Truth be told, she felt downright shitty. Both Kurtis and Egypt nagged at her, ever-present thoughts she feared would never abandon her. * I'll never be able to sleep tonight.*  
  
A headache raged just behind both temples, drumming fiercely inside her head, a pounding equivalent to a severe hangover. She lifted two fingers to delicately massage her throbbing brow, and draped herself with a breathy sigh over the arm of her favorite chair.  
  
*Shit. Shit shit shit. I suppose I'll take another hot drink and then be off to bed. Maybe a quick dip in the pool will help me feel better.*  
  
A fist thrummed lightly against the library door.  
  
Winston's creased face eclipsed shining wood a moment later, his eyes seeking hers as Lara twisted to face him. "A man stopped by to see you. He said it was important."  
  
"At this time of night, in this kind of weather, it would have to be, wouldn't it? Did you send him away?"  
  
"Yes. I told him you weren't receiving any visitors. He left a minute or two ago."  
  
"Good. Did he leave a name?"  
  
"No. He departed without saying anything."  
  
She smiled a little weakly. "Thank you, Winston. Have a good night. I'll be off to my room in a little while."  
  
He looked fondly at her a moment, then softly whisked the door shut. She listened a moment to his retreating footsteps, their cacophony gradually fading as he retreated deeper into the immense house.  
  
Then, inhaling deeply, Lara retrieved the pilfered disk, and powered up her laptop.  
  
* * *  
  
"Yes. I told him you weren't receiving any visitors. He left a minute or two ago."  
  
Their words drifted muffled and slightly garbled to his waiting ear where it lay pressed against the library window. A smirk curved thin lips. "No he didn't." Kurtis murmured.  
  
He slipped his fingers deftly to the window's sill, smoothing callused fingertips lightly along damp wood, seeking a small opening he might be able to use to break in. Finding nothing, he loosened his Boran X and curved a large palm around it.  
  
Solid metal impacted heavily against shaded glass, the window frosting over in an intricate spiderweb with a resounding crack. Satisfied, he slipped his weapon back into its holster, and ducked to the side, just out of her view.  
  
* * *  
  
The monitor flickered before her, loading agonizingly slowly. She peered mesmerized at the disk lying in one softly curved palm. *I hope Werner left me some good leads. It was the least the old bugger could do after trying to kill me in Egypt, and then getting me framed for his murder. Though that last part wasn't exactly his fault.*  
  
She shook her head, and ripped the disk from its protective sleeve, slipping it partially into the slot at the front of her computer.  
  
The noisy shatter of glass rent the silence, thrusting Lara immediately to her feet, gun already in hand. Her startled gaze darted to the far window, sheathed from prying eyes by the curtain she'd closed earlier.  
  
Her heartbeat accelerated, its thundering beat magnified in sensitive ears.  
  
Cautiously, Lara approached the far side of the library, pistol out before her, stepping quietly as she drew near.  
  
She nudged aside rough material with one hand, aiming her firearm with the other, its barrel pointed directly at destroyed glass. The window's exterior, once unmarred, now stood severely lacerated, the enveloping crack stretching nearly to the sill in a lazy spiral.  
  
"Who the hell damaged my property?" she demanded aloud, and angrily flung open the window.  
  
Only the reverberating patter of rain answered.  
  
Hard-eyed, she peered outward, scanning the darkened landscape, squinting into lashing precipitation. She paced forward a step, keeping her pistol inside, holding it beside one ear as she pressed herself flat to the wall.  
  
It skimmed agilely through the open space, whirling blades hooking the weapon from her hand and tossing it half-way across the library, chill steel lightly kissing smooth flesh. The Chirugai grazed so close to her she felt her heart freeze for a moment, the near brush flinging her with a muttered curse against the window sill.  
  
Strong fingers clamped around her forearm, her unseen assailant jerking Lara's face into streaming rainwater with a savage jerk that nearly toppled her out the window.  
  
He appeared a moment later, smirking.  
  
Their faces hovered near one another, so close she might have angled her head to kiss him, had she not been overcome by the urge to bash his smug face into her knee.  
  
"Nice to see you again." he said coolly.  
  
"You broke my window." she replied coldly.  
  
"No kiss hello?" Kurtis asked sarcastically, lifting both heavy brows.  
  
"I'll substitute the kiss for a kick, if you don't mind. Let go of me." Lara snapped, jerking her arm from his powerful grasp. "What the hell do you think you're doing, trespassing on my property and breaking the windows? Don't you have something else to destroy?"  
  
"Let me in the house. I want to talk."  
  
"Yes, well I want to never see you again, but we don't always get our wish, do we? And did you really think sneaking around like a criminal and attempting to burglarize my library was the best method to persuading me to let you in?"  
  
He smiled. "You can't keep me out."  
  
"Try it." Lara said coldly, her hand flashing out of view so swiftly the human eyes could barely follow the lithe motion.  
  
Shining steel gleamed before indifferent cerulean orbs.  
  
At her back, the Glaive spun to life once more, descending to the knife she brandished mere inches from one of his beautiful eyes. A brief twist of its rotating blades, and he'd disarmed her again, the abrupt movement thrusting her hand forward into the chill night.  
  
He caught her fingers in his larger ones, and gripped them a moment, mouth twisting sardonically again. Then he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed each knuckle, his mouth lingering warm against her flesh.  
  
Lara felt her breath quicken despite herself, and struggled to maintain the dignified glare she'd trained on him.  
  
He lifted his head a moment later, amusement flashing briefly in twin azure pools. "See you later."  
  
And he dissipated into swirling darkness, as quickly as he'd emerged, leaving the irate brunette fuming in his absence.  
  
* * *  
  
"You look as though you've had a rough night, Lara."  
  
Her lips twisted humorlessly as she set one slender shoulder against the dining room entrance. Absently, she tightened one fingerless leather glove, securing it more firmly around her small wrist. "Not so much rough as restless. Could you make me a coffee, Winston? I need a bit of caffeine to clear my head."  
  
"I'll have it ready in a minute, dear." He looked curiously at her as he shuffled past. "What happened to the window in the library? Was there some trouble last night? My ears don't seem to hear as much anymore."  
  
"No trouble. Just an...unexpected visitor." She paused a moment, nibbling her bottom lip. "Winston, was the man who came to see me last night a brunette with blue eyes? Around 5'10' or so, well-built, wearing a dark T- shirt and jeans?"  
  
He quirked a gray eyebrow. "Yes. Was he the one who broke the window?"  
  
"Yes he was. If you happen to notice him hanging around while I'm not available, please get rid of him."  
  
"Will I need the assistance of one of your guns?"  
  
"No, that won't be necessary. Don't hurt him. He's not an enemy. Just annoying." *And irritatingly sexy, and strong. Not too mention almost as stubborn as I am.* "Keep an eye on anything strange, would you? He's tricky."  
  
"He won't get past the front door, Lara." the shambling old butler promised.  
  
She smiled distractedly and lifted a hand in acknowledgment of his comment, then passed into the hallway. *Don't count on it. It wouldn't surprise me if the bastard had already found a way into the house. He's probably looking to ambush me right now.*  
  
* * *  
  
She reached the library only moments later, and shut the door swiftly behind her. The resounding click penetrated thick silence.  
  
Both eyes trailed grimly to the splintered window pane, rage rising within as she pictured his face again, hair sodden and clinging to the slope of his forehead. His clothes, saturated by thrashing precipitation, had clung to the athletic hardness of his body, causing her throat to dry even now as she remembered. *He *would* be able to tempt me, even when I'm furious with him.* she thought with a scowl.  
  
Exhaling audibly, Lara crossed to her abandoned laptop, crouching to retrieve the disk lying beside it. "If this is damaged, Kurtis..." she said aloud. Gingerly, she picked it up, lightly brushing carpet fibers from its surface. In her haste last night, she'd sent both computer and disk flying when she'd risen to greet the intruder skulking around her window.  
  
*If I'd known who it was, I would have just ignored him. Typical man, just begging for attention.*  
  
She felt irrationally angry with him, at the same time she wished he'd hold good on his promise to be back. She wasn't precisely sure of her reaction if she *did* see him again; judging from her current mood, he might either find a tongue crammed down his throat, or a boot thrust with every ounce of her strength into his groin.  
  
*And why *did* he come back, anyway? I thought the decision to stay away from one another was a mutual one. After nine months, what interest does he have in me again?*  
  
She had no interest in him anymore. *Well, that's not precisely true. I have no interest in *seeing* him again.* And that, actually, wasn't precisely true either. She had no wish to ever contact Kurtis Trent again, but at the same time, now that he'd appeared after all this time, she suddenly *needed* to see him, and straighten things out between them once and for all so she could move on with her life and forget his existence entirely. *Closure. That's all I need. Maybe I shouldn't have ordered Winston to keep him away. Then again, I doubt very much that a feeble old man could prevent Kurtis from entering this house, if he's set his mind to getting inside.*  
  
The thought quirked her mouth in a reluctant smile. The man's stubbornness rivaled her own.  
  
* * *  
  
He pressed her close to his chest, holding his gun to her neck as his free hand slowly, seductively trailed the softly rounded curve of one hip. She stirred lightly against him, the movement sending an unexpected surge of pleasure throughout him. He stilled her motion immediately with a hard jab of his weapon's barrel, and cleared the gun she still gripped from her left hand. His fingers lightly grazed her own, whispering over her palm as his hand crept stealthily to the toned flesh of her stomach.  
  
She shivered lightly in his hold.  
  
Kurtis murmured something in slumber, and nuzzled his face deeper into the pillow his head rested atop, one strong arm flopping lazily across the vacant left side of the motel bed he lay in. The image of the Lourve, hovering with such startlingly clarity before him, vanished suddenly, replaced by smoldering dark eyes. They perused him thoroughly, her full, tempting lips curving in an alluring smile.  
  
She crooked a finger to him, and disappeared.  
  
He woke with a jerk, the dingy room snapping into focus around him. Inhaling deeply, Kurtis rolled onto his back, stretching languorously. He groped to rub the sleep from both eyes, trailing a hand over sleep-rumpled hair.  
  
Drowsily, he rose, the bare flesh of his chest tightening beneath the loathsome touch of the room's chill. He shivered in the surrounding cold, and shuffled quickly to the bathroom entrance, reaching to flick the light on.  
  
"Try it."  
  
He smiled as her voice echoed inside his head, tinged with anger and sarcasm, even more sexy to his ears than usual. She'd presented him with a challenge last night, and he never liked to back down from a challenge.  
  
*Ok.* Kurtis answered her silently, smirking at himself as he peered into grime-encrusted glass.  
  
* * *  
  
She dozed quietly before the crackling fire, her sleepless night finally having overtaken her. Her head lolled gently against the chair's back, full lips parted slightly in peaceful slumber. The shapely swell of her chest rose and fell with each gentle inhalation, a slender hand draped lightly over the chair's right arm.  
  
He stepped quietly inside, and clicked the door shut behind him.  
  
His gaze fell instantly on her prone figure, and he set a shoulder against the wall to his right, simply watching her a moment. *I told you I'd get in.* Kurtis thought, smiling a little. It had been no challenge at all to enter; he'd simply picked the lock and strolled right in the front door after taking a quick, furtive look around for any cameras or wandering butlers. From there, he'd stolen quietly along the immense hallway, cautiously opening various doors, exploring a little, until he'd stumbled upon the library, and the sleeping Lara Croft, even more lovely in slumber.  
  
He paced forward a step, nearing her.  
  
She sprang abruptly into action, lunging to booted feet, her gun trained on him before he even had time to blink. Dark eyes coolly contemplated him over the gun's sights, the intensity of her gaze settling heavily across startled features.  
  
Slowly, lethargically, Kurtis lifted both hands in the air.  
  
Her two-handed grip on the firearm never wavered. "That's called trespassing, you know."  
  
He smirked. "Not bad, Croft. Haven't lost your touch."  
  
"No I haven't. But you just might lose your head." She thumbed the safety.  
  
Cerulean orbs widened slightly, shock flaring briefly in their beautiful depths.  
  
"Take your gun off, and kick it toward me. And no funny tricks with your Chirugai, please."  
  
"You don't trust me?" he said mildly, quirking one eyebrow.  
  
"Do I have a reason to?" Lara returned, mirroring his expression, a slender dark eyebrow lifting slightly over one emotionless mahogany orb. "Weapons, please. Before I have to get nasty."  
  
He smiled. "Come and get them." *And be as nasty as you want.* he added silently, smirking.  
  
She eyed him warily, then crossed to his waiting figure, her weapon unmoving from his handsome face. Cautiously, almost tentatively, she released the firearm with one hand, and trailed a small palm over the hardness of his chest to the gun holstered at his side.  
  
He stood quietly, almost docilely as her fingers skimmed his body, shifting only slightly under her meandering touch.  
  
His Boran X thunked to thick carpeting, followed a moment later by the Chirugai.  
  
She peered upward, into his eyes for a single moment, then looked hastily away, sheathing her weapon to search him more thoroughly, her lithe body pressed enticingly close to his larger frame. He felt her hands moving at his side, drifting agonizingly sluggishly over firm muscles.  
  
Shooting another hard look in his direction, she crouched slightly, running both slender hands over his muscular legs.  
  
He thrust an arm around her neck, spinning her around in a violent motion that crashed her backward against his hard body, the curve of her back pressed tightly to his front. She plunged an elbow into his abdomen, doubling him over with a grunt, then bent forward slightly, groping for his wrist. With an agile flick of her own hand, she flung him none-too-gently over one softly rounded shoulder, his body impacting the floor with a loud thud.  
  
Swiftly, she moved to his side, and jabbed a boot into the flesh of his throat, effectively pinning him beneath her. Eyes flashing dangerously, Lara removed her gun, and ejected the magazine, the slender dark object bouncing to a reluctant halt at his side.  
  
Empty.  
  
A cold smirk curved full lips.  
  
She holstered her pistol once more, unrelenting in her pressure on his neck. "You have a lot of nerve, Kurtis Trent. Breaking into my house, then assaulting me. Maybe I should have loaded it."  
  
He stared apathetically up at her, those enthralling indigo eyes as blank as usual.  
  
"Why are you here?" Lara demanded. "And please, no attempts at witticism. It won't impress me."  
  
"It might be a little difficult for me to talk with you standing on my neck."  
  
"You seem to be doing just fine. Speak."  
  
He clamped a hand around her ankle, and swung the other hard at her knee, thrusting her forward with a muttered curse, both hands plunging out to halt her motion. Twisting, Kurtis rolled Lara onto her back and climbed atop her, straddling sun-darkened thighs.  
  
He felt a brief flare of triumph, a moment before her hips thrust upward, flinging his weight from her small figure, the momentum carrying them both into a tangled roll. They wrestled briefly, intimately entwined as both struggled for the upper hand. She was surprisingly strong for a woman, though that hardly surprised him.  
  
Still stunned, Kurtis let his guard slip a moment, and she took advantage of this to wrench a strong and toned arm behind his back, shoving his face into the floor with a vicious shove.  
  
All motion stopped, both breathing raggedly now, their gasped breaths penetrating thick silence. "Bad Kurtis. This is my house, you play by my rules. Were you sent here after the disk?" she asked, crushing his face harder into the carpet for emphasis.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then why did you come all the way to England? You missed my lovely company?" Lara said dryly, giving his arm an extra jerk.  
  
"Get off me...bitch." he murmured, his masculine voice muffled by carpet fibers.  
  
"What did you just call me?"  
  
Kurtis thrust a hand back, wriggling it from beneath where it lay trapped beneath his body, his fingers closing hard against the base of her skull. With a hard shove, he tipped her sideways, her body clearing his and landing heavily beside him. Moving surprisingly quickly for a man, he swung around, placing both hands on either side of her head, their perspiring faces dangerously close to one another.  
  
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." she snapped, dark eyes blazing ominously.  
  
"Because I'm lying on top of you and your weapon isn't loaded."  
  
"I don't need a damn gun to snap your neck."  
  
"No, but you do need two hands. And they're tied up for the moment." he said calmly, lacing their fingers together and driving her wrists into the carpet.  
  
"How romantic, Kurtis. I never thought of you as the holding-hands type. Tell me: is this how you win over all your women? Trade a few witty remarks, then you disarm her and roll around the floor of her house?"  
  
"You started all this." he responded.  
  
"Oh *please*!" Lara snapped. "Let's not start that up again. And besides, I don't seem to recall breaking into my *own* house, taking away my gun, breaking my window, and then throwing myself on the floor and sitting on top of myself. You assisted in all that."  
  
Kurtis smirked. "Just trying to help."  
  
"Yes, well aren't you terribly useful?" she hissed, writhing beneath him. "Get off me!"  
  
"So you can remove important parts of my anatomy? No thanks."  
  
"I'm not your damn lounge chair! I told you to get off. Then escort yourself out my front door, and don't come back."  
  
"You don't want me t-"  
  
The door exploded open at that moment, pausing Kurtis mid-sentence. Winston surged inside, gripping a 30.06 in gnarled hands.  
  
Its barrel spun to target Kurtis' head.  
  
He froze, his gaze shifting from Lara to the angry butler.  
  
"He hasn't hurt you, has he, Lara dear?" Winston demanded, keen old eyes unmoving from his victim. He thumbed the safety on his weapon. "Hands in the air. Remove yourself from Ms. Croft."  
  
Lara smiled. "It's all right, Winston. That's not necessary. He hasn't harmed me. Close the door please."  
  
"Lara-"  
  
"Winston, I'm not concerned that a man of his limited brain capacity will be able to outsmart me. Don't concern yourself over me. We're just having a bit of a...debate."  
  
He lingered a moment longer, with one last glare for Kurtis. Then, reluctantly, Winston slipped out, the door banging behind him.  
  
Kurtis' grip on her hands slackened as his eyes bore into hers. She snapped her wrists free of his hold, and forced them upward, grasping fistfuls of his shirt. Then, smiling, she hooked a foot behind his right ankle, and thrust her hips up and to one side, depositing him neatly on his back, her waist cradled between his legs.  
  
"Don't toy with me, Trent." Lara said, steel in her voice. "Tell me why you came, and then get the hell out."  
  
"Curiosity." he replied mildly.  
  
"Curiosity of what?"  
  
"You."  
  
She remained silent, digesting that, eyeing him coldly. Something flickered in her eyes, an indistinct emotion passing briefly through their depths. "Your curiosity wasn't satisfied nine months ago? What do you want to know?" she asked dryly, without releasing him. "Bra size? Social security number? The color and texture of my knickers?"  
  
He smirked humorlessly. "Actually, I meant I was curious about what you've been up to. But throw in bra size, too, why don'tcha? I've always been a little interested."  
  
"Are you interested to know what it's like to feel my fist in your face, as well?"  
  
"No. I already know that, remember?"  
  
Her lips curved slightly. "Yes, I seemed to have forgotten that."  
  
"You mean your guilty conscience blocked it out?"  
  
"No. My conscience is a better judge of what to feel guilty about than that. Now, let's move this on a bit faster, shall we? You give me a straight answer, and I refrain from removing important parts of your anatomy."  
  
He smiled, the expression slightly devilish. "I think you'll leave any important parts of my anatomy right where they are. You might need them later."  
  
"You think an awful lot of yourself, you arrogant American pig." Lara snapped, and hauled him to his feet. "I'll show you the door, just to make sure you don't get lost on the way. I'd like to say 'It was nice to see you again,' but I'm not a liar."  
  
The library door slammed behind them, the echo reverberating all throughout overflowing bookcases. 


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
Motel  
England, May 23rd, 2004  
  
He stood with his back to the door, bent over something obscured from her view. His body jerked in abrupt, violent motions, his actions sheathed from her prying eyes by the width of his muscular body.  
  
She took a moment to look around, nudging the door slightly wider, its silent advance unnoticed by the preoccupied Lux Veritatis warrior.  
  
For a moment, Lara entertained the thought that a tornado had touched down inside Kurtis' room, ravaging only his belongings, disturbing no one else as it faded silently into oblivion. Then she realized it was only a typical bachelor pad lying before her in devastation, and relaxed. *I shouldn't be surprised anyway. He's never struck me as the sort of man with incredible domestic skills.*  
  
She remained in the dingy hall, simply observing him, his hunched posture affording her an enticing view of his ass. The muscles in his hard back corded beneath the thin material of his T-shirt, accelerating her heartbeat even as she attempted to persuade herself that he had no effect on her. At his hip, the Chirugai glinted in silent wait, attracting her dark gaze for a moment.  
  
"You realize coming alone to a man's motel room makes certain implications?"  
  
She jerked, startled, at his voice.  
  
He spoke calmly, without turning, and she reluctantly stepped inside, leaving the door gaping behind her. "Do you have eyes in the back of your head? Is that another one of your special Lux Veritatis powers?" Lara demanded sardonically.  
  
Kurtis smiled, a hint of bitterness in the curl of his lips. "I heard you open the door."  
  
"I could have been a maid."  
  
"Does this look like the sort of establishment that boasts a cleaning crew?" he asked, finally turning, quirking one eyebrow in her direction. He hefted a navy blue duffel bag in both strong hands, tossing it aside.  
  
It landed with a thunk at her booted feet.  
  
She prodded it lightly with a toe, and crossed both arms over the jean jacket she'd donned against the brisk spring weather.  
  
"Can I help you with something?" he asked coldly.  
  
Their eyes locked briefly, dangerously, hardness in both gazes as they peered at one another. Smirking coolly, Kurtis slipped a hand into the front pocket of his jeans, fumbling a moment without breaking eye contact. A moment later, he withdrew a pack of cigarettes, removing one and gripping it loosely between two fingers. "You mind?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes I do. And you know it."  
  
He shrugged, then clicked open the lighter which had materialized in his other hand , touching its writhing flame to the end of tightly rolled paper.  
  
Lara's mouth flattened briefly in displeasure. *The lummox is trying to get a rise out of you. Just ignore the fact that he's an immature bastard and act maturely. One of us has to, at least.* she warned herself silently.  
  
"You come here for anything specific?" Kurtis asked, expelling a ring of smoke.  
  
"Yes. I came to say that I...*regret* that I was so abrupt yesterday. I should have recognized your talent for being an idiot and just drowned you in the pool instead of wrestling around like a barbarian."  
  
He snorted. "Was that supposed to be some sort of half-assed apology?"  
  
"No. It wasn't. *I* don't need to apologize. You're the one who broke into my home and attacked me. You're lucky I didn't shoot you on sight." She paused a moment, eyes blazing. "Maybe I would have, if that particular sight hadn't scared the living shit out of me. But then again, your face has a tendency to evoke that reaction in me. I suppose I should have been better prepared."  
  
"You tracked me all the way to my motel just to insult me?" he demanded, removing his cigarette and straightening, both hands clenching to hard fists.  
  
"Well that wasn't my original intent, but somehow our conversations always seem to turn out this way, don't they? Maybe that's because it's so difficult to carry on a civilized conversation with an overgrown, self- satisfied gorilla." She pivoted on a heel, the thick silken cord of her braid whipping behind her. "I don't even know why I bother."  
  
The door slammed as she stretched out a hand for it, shutting with force sufficient to splinter wood. The ensuing crack echoed in tense silence, magnified in the small room.  
  
Lara turned slowly, mahogany orbs catching intense cerulean ones.  
  
He thrust the cigarette onto cheap carpeting, and ground it to a slow death beneath one boot.  
  
"Don't you think that's cheating, using your magic tricks to trap me in your room? What are you going to do now, fly me through the air and throw me down on your bed?"  
  
He clamped a hand around her forearm, tugging her to him, eliminating the space between them. She tilted her head slightly to peer upward into his face, their foreheads nearly brushing. His bangs grazed her flesh in the lightest of touches, prompting a shiver down her spine.  
  
"What-do-you-want?" Kurtis said, emphasizing each word, his eyes boring fiercely into Lara's.  
  
'You' seemed a bit forward and a lot more than she was willing to admit, but it seemed the only answer that sprang to Lara's clouded mind. It almost spilled from her lips, but she forced it down at the last moment, remaining stubbornly silent. She had a feeling that had she replied so boldly, he might have shoved her up against the wall and began to kiss her.  
  
As it was, he restrained himself admirably, unless his interest in her had merely faded over time and their closeness didn't bother him. She doubted, however, from the heated look in his normally cold eyes that his thoughts lingered on the weather.  
  
She cleared her throat, and paced backward a step. The tension in her coiled body eased slightly, now that there bodies were no longer pressed up against one another. "The disk I stole in Rome; it's encoded. It won't allow me access to the files on it. I thought you might know something about extracting the files, since you were obviously employed by the man I snatched it from."  
  
"I don't know anything about the disk." he said coolly, releasing her arm. "I was just sent after you with orders to retrieve it."  
  
"Which you didn't do." Lara pointed out. "I imagine Bartolli wasn't too pleased about that."  
  
Kurtis shrugged. "His problem. I'm moving on to other opportunities."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"Whatever looks interesting. Bartolli's a fat piece of shit anyways. Pay was crappy."  
  
"Then you don't know anything?" Lara pressed.  
  
"No."  
  
"Kurtis this is important. I *need* to access those files; remember when you asked me about Egypt, and I told you it was complicated? This disk could un-complicate it a bit. If you know anything-"  
  
"Computers aren't my thing. And I'm finished here anyway. Think I'll head back to the States." *You obviously don't want me here, and America beats the hell out of these goddamn European countries.*  
  
She eyed him a moment as he stooped to retrieve his bag. "Then you're not going to help me. At all." Her voice rang flat.  
  
He pondered that a moment, perusing her beautiful face from beneath thick dark lashes. "No. I don't think so."  
  
"Fine. Nice meeting you, Kurtis. Send me a postcard."  
  
* * *  
  
She entered cautiously, gun out before her, stepping lightly over polished tiles. At her feet, a line of muddy footprints marred the once immaculate floor, advancing in the direction of the kitchen. She followed them apprehensively, heart thundering in her ears, perspiration slicking both palms beneath the gloves she wore.  
  
*Returning home to find my front door wide open is never a good thing.* Lara thought grimly, placing each boot carefully. Her progression down the hallway seemed agonizingly slow to her, anxiety roiling in the depths of her stomach. Bile thrust against full lips, its acidity lingering in the warmth of her mouth.  
  
The pistol barrel scanned the hall before her, sweeping its length before she carefully edged to the kitchen entrance.  
  
Using her weapon, Lara prodded the partially-open door wide, her slender body following a moment later.  
  
She tensed in anticipation of an attack.  
  
Nothing.  
  
An unpleasant scent lurked in the air, its thick presence nauseating, and yet somehow familiar. It was an odor she'd encountered before, numerous times. It writhed in sensitive nostrils, rippling her brow into lines of concern.  
  
Death.  
  
The unwelcome aroma clung to each lithe curve, molding within every folded crevice of clothing, the fresh tang of blood intensifying her drumming heart. She felt its pounding rhythm thrumming powerfully against her ribcage, its beat augmented in the eerie silence.  
  
She paced forward a step, wary.  
  
Her eyes sought each corner, probing them thoroughly, searching for some sign of danger.  
  
Still nothing, but the repulsive smell persisted, growing stronger.  
  
Another step.  
  
And another.  
  
Her boot thrust something soft, contacting flesh. Full lips parted in shock, a startled spasm shuddering her entire body. Her weapon lowered, mahogany orbs seeking the body she'd kicked.  
  
"Oh my God."  
  
* * *  
  
Kurtis arrived only a few minutes behind her, skidding straight through the unclosed gate, his bike roaring throatily as he reduced its speed. He parked beside her jeep, the motorcycle's masculine purr dying reluctantly into oblivion.  
  
The Boran X rested heavily in one large palm, drawn the moment his machine's momentum ceased. He thumbed the safety, and stood, eyeing the front door, trepidation tightening his chest as he warily approached the Croft mansion.  
  
He noticed the intruder's prints immediately, and touched the reserves of power deep within him, prepared to use the Chirugai at a moment's notice. It hummed at his side, quivering lightly within its restraints.  
  
He crept steadily forward, pursuing the trail left to him by the trespasser.  
  
His boots lightly caressed shining floor, only a light whisper marking his progress.  
  
He thrust the Boran X from corner to corner, body tense, every muscle taut in expectation. His breath slipped softly through slightly parted lips, flaring soundlessly into the surrounding atmosphere.  
  
It took him several strained moments to reach the kitchen, gun still poised threateningly in front of him. Cautiously he entered, unknowingly taking the same path Lara herself had only minutes earlier.  
  
His gaze fell on her a few seconds later, standing over a crumpled figure, head bowed, shoulders slack in misery. The sound of his entrance prompted her eyes upward, her pistol spinning around to target his chest.  
  
Recognition graced sorrow-tinged features.  
  
Her arm drooped, fingers going limp, the firearm clattering at her feet.  
  
* * *  
  
His gore thickly coated the floor surrounding her. It splashed beneath her knees as she sank, white-faced and trembling, to his side. Swallowing against the thick lump crusting the interior of her throat, Lara gently reached both hands to his face, swiping aside clinging droplets of crimson.  
  
She felt a fierce burning just beyond thick dark lashes. Inhaling deeply, she cleared sodden strands of hair from his blank eyes, fingertips gently caressing gnarled skin. Dimly, she heard Kurtis move past her, methodically completing a thorough search of the kitchen to be sure they were safe.  
  
She cradled Winston's head in her lap, peering numbly down into the face of the man who'd been a part of her family since she was a small child. *Who did this to you?* she thought, stroking his forehead in a soft gesture so unlike the hardened woman bestowing it.  
  
He crouched at her side, holstering his gun. She felt his hand lightly touch one slumped shoulder, the warmth of his body briefly lending her some comfort.  
  
Unbidden, a single angry tear traversed the length of her face.  
  
Furious with herself for showing this weakness in front of him, Lara turned her head, blinking to clear both eyes.  
  
Kurtis lightly brushed his thumb across the trail of wetness, tentatively placing an arm around her sagging shoulders.  
  
Exhaling shakily, Lara released the slaughtered butler, turning her face from the brutal sight of his murdered body. His innards trailed wetly from the slashed ruin of his abdomen, severed veins dangling grotesque and exposed from shredded flesh.  
  
Both strong arms enveloped her fully now, one hand raising to gently tilt her chin from the grisly scene, his rough and callused fingertips surprisingly kind.  
  
She allowed herself to be weak a moment, resting her forehead against his chest, grateful for his warm body and the soothing motion of his hand as it stroked the back of her head. His chest moved softly against her with each breath he drew, the rhythmic drumming of his heart thundering comfortingly beneath one ear.  
  
He rested one stubbled cheek against the top of her head, tightening his hold on her slender body. The calming passage of his hand ceased, and she instantly regretted the removal of his warm fingertips, their presence immensely comforting.  
  
His palm slipped over the soft curve of one cheekbone, caressing it in a gesture far more tender than she would have thought possible. His thumb drifted lightly beneath one eye, clearing the last remnants of moisture from satin flesh.  
  
After a moment, Lara pushed him away, and stood, eyes hard.  
  
"What's on the disk that's so important to Bartolli?" she asked coldly, steel in her voice.  
  
Kurtis, still kneeling on the floor, lifted both eyebrows. "What?"  
  
"The disk, Kurtis. What's on it that caused Bartolli to send someone to retrieve it, killing a harmless seventy-year-old man in the process?"  
  
He shook his head, draping a hand lightly across one knee. "I told you I don't know anything about the disk."  
  
"Then why did you come back here? And, please, try not to lie to me. It would be detrimental to your health."  
  
He peered upward at her for a moment, then slowly rose. His fingertips lightly touched her chin, lingering a moment longer than was appropriate.  
  
"Answer me, Kurtis." Lara demanded, sounding more weary than angry now. Her eyes slipped briefly closed.  
  
"I'm telling you the truth. I have no clue what's on the disk. But I think I might have an idea how to bring up the files."  
  
"Really. That's interesting, considering that earlier today you claimed computers weren't your thing, and that you didn't know anything about the disk."  
  
"Maybe I wasn't being completely honest." He shrugged, then nodded his head to the door. "Go get it. I'll clean up the mess in here."  
  
"No." she replied quietly, her gaze surging back to Winston's corpse. "I'll do it. Just give me a moment." She remained fixated on the old man, a pensive, saddened look he'd never seen before seizing hold of beautiful features. "He's been with me since I was a little girl."  
  
Kurtis watched her a moment longer, then slipped silently out, refraining from touching her as he brushed past.  
  
* * *  
  
Croft Manor England, May 24th, 2004  
  
She dropped wearily into the waiting armchair, rubbing sleep-crusted eyes as full lips parted in a yawn. Kurtis turned his head to watch her antics a moment, experiencing the first pangs of exhaustion himself. He stretched his muscular legs out before him, crossing booted feet at the ankle.  
  
His gaze flickered once more to the computer screen.  
  
Exhaling noisily, he rotated both shoulders, working the kinks loose in cramped muscles.  
  
"Any progress?" Lara asked tiredly, rising to come around to his back. She peered over one strong shoulder, lightly resting both hands against the warm material of his shirt.  
  
"No." he said as coolly as ever, shifting slightly beneath her touch. "Nothing's working."  
  
She thrust both thumbs into the base of his neck and began to knead the taut flesh there, her hands tightening and slackening as they massaged tense muscles. He continued to work, making an impressive effort to ignore the heat of her fingertips, his body slowly, lethargically relaxing beneath the soothing motion of her hands. Only the quiet tacking of computer keys permeated thick silence.  
  
"It's after midnight. Time for a break. It's been a long day; we can always try this again in the morning."  
  
"I don't need much sleep." Kurtis responded distractedly.  
  
"Yes you do." Lara argued, emitting a quiet snort of derision. "I remember what you were like after being awakened unexpectedly. It wasn't a pleasant experience." She trailed a finger absently over weather-roughened flesh, lightly stroking the nape of his neck.  
  
He swallowed hard, and trained both beautiful eyes intently on the computer monitor.  
  
"I'm taking a quick dip in the pool. It always seems to relax me a bit, and God knows I need a bit of relaxing after all that's happened today. Then I'm off to bed. You're welcome to stay. For tonight." she hastily clarified. "No sense in you driving back to some motel when you'll probably just be out here again tomorrow, trying to sort this out. I've got plenty of room."  
  
"Fine." he answered indifferently.  
  
"Fine." she repeated, her touch withdrawing from his skin. "I suppose I'll see you in the morning then."  
  
"Yeah." Kurtis said, and waved a hand dismissively in the air.  
  
She retreated moments later, turning her back on him and slipping quietly out the library door.  
  
* * *  
  
Its chill rippled around her dangling feet, shimmering ethereally in the dim overhead illumination. It enveloped slender ankles, slithering up shapely calves to caress bare flesh.  
  
Lara shivered, and skimmed one foot lightly across the water's quiescent surface.  
  
The liquid spread outward in disturbed undulations, slipping into quiet oblivion across the pool's width. Keen eyes tracked their progress, riveted to the minute waves. She tossed aside the towel draped over her lap, and plunged forward, into the water's embrace.  
  
An explosion of froth geysered upward, surging over her head. She felt the water's bulk pressed all along her scantily-clothed body, and reveled in its calming touch. The chestnut cord of her hair, still tightly bound, drifted softly at her back. She remained suspended in churning liquid a moment, blinking in the swirl of foam, before arching her back and stretching both arms overhead, kicking for the surface.  
  
She broke into sweet air only a moment later, parting full lips to breathe deeply.  
  
Something moved among the shadows. She tensed, eyeing the Glock lying serenely on her abandoned towel, too far away to help her. *Shit.*  
  
He stepped into her view, his eyes holding hers. Her eyebrows lifted briefly in surprise, then lowered once more as she adopted a casual look. She tread water gracefully, her gaze trained on his as Kurtis paced forward a step, nearing the pool's edge.  
  
Then, as she watched, he began to undress, fumbling with his holster a moment before unbuckling it and dropping it at his feet. The Boran X skittered lightly over damp tiles before settling to a reluctant halt a foot or so from the pool's edge.  
  
Kurtis' Chirugai joined it a moment later.  
  
Her throat constricted harshly, sudden anxiety spreading hotly all throughout her.  
  
He tugged his shirt over muscular shoulders, baring perspiration-slick flesh to widened mahogany orbs. Then, clad only in jeans, Kurtis lowered himself to the pool's edge, swiftly stripping off his boots and socks.  
  
His body dropped heavily into the water a moment later, the echoing splash strangely muffled by the insistent drumming of her heartbeat. She looked away, hastily clearing water from thick dark lashes. *I should leave. I'm wearing only my swimsuit, and he's now half-naked. That can't be a good combination.*  
  
Unbidden, her eyes drifted to the place he'd disappeared, his dark head still having yet to appear.  
  
She sensed something at her feet, and glanced down, at the same moment something jerked hard on her ankles, pulling her beneath the water's frothing surface. "You son of a bit-" Lara yelled, a moment before her lips dipped into foaming liquid. Chill water invaded her lungs, pooling in the interior of her throat as he submerged her completely.  
  
She surfaced moments later, to find him drifting before her, a smirk creasing handsome features.  
  
Lara shook loosened strands of hair from stormy eyes, attempting to hold a glare on him, a task she found increasingly difficult as he trailed a hand up one shapely bare arm. Their foreheads grazed lightly, his breath falling warm over her damp flesh.  
  
Gently, his hands explored her naked abdomen, thumbs smoothing heatedly over toned muscles. She sought him with her own fingertips, the move rendered without thought, both hands dropping beneath the water to caress his bare chest. They floated serenely, bobbing slightly up and down, the gradual motion pressing their bodies more firmly into one another.  
  
They continued to tread water, gazes locked, his cool cerulean orbs burning intently into her dark eyes. Slowly his hands trailed to her waist, resting lightly against softly curved hips. He stroked a thumb up her side, prompting a shiver all throughout her body.  
  
*It's nice to just relax after staying up half the night trying to crack the code on that damn disk, and after Winston was murdered earlier. But I think this is going to go too far, if one of us doesn't do something about it.* Lara thought, a tinge of regret settling thick in her chest.  
  
She placed both hands on his shoulders, tensing to shove him away.  
  
His damp lips closed hotly against her throat, instantly halting her motion.  
  
She shivered against him, and her fingers tightened on dripping flesh. He trailed kisses across Lara's collarbone, ending at her shoulder, then working his way back up once more until he arrived again at her face.  
  
Their mouths twined in a warm, seductive kiss, bodies slick with sweat despite the chill of the surrounding water.  
  
Kurtis skimmed both rough callused palms upward, the gentle passage of his fingertips coming to rest in the small of her back. Their lips opened slightly against one another, tongues meeting and tangling.  
  
She broke away a moment later, breathing heavily, then extracted herself from his grip and began to swim for the pool's edge.  
  
He followed, and a moment later they'd both heaved themselves onto damp tile. Kurtis eyed her from the corner of his vision as she retrieved her towel, climbing to his feet as she turned to leave.  
  
He thrust out an arm to stop her.  
  
She peered coolly at him. "Excuse me. You mind? I'd hate to have to break that."  
  
He moved in closer in a show of open defiance, invading her personal space, one hand plucking the towel from her grasp. "What-are-you-afraid-of?" Kurtis demanded, emphasizing each word in a patronizing way that infuriated her.  
  
"I'm not afraid of anything, least of all you, and you'll learn that in another second if you don't hand me back my towel."  
  
"Every time we start to get close, you back away." Kurtis replied, using his slight height advantage to hold the coveted piece of material just out of her reach. She glared, and contemplated making a leap for it, then decided he'd like that too much, considering the fact that she was wearing only a scant little swimsuit top which might not hold her breasts properly in place if she were to start bouncing around.  
  
"Maybe it's your breath. Ever consider that?" she asked sarcastically. "Anyway, I'm not exactly in the mood to be romantic right now. If you'll remember, my butler, who was like a grandfather to me, was just brutally murdered this afternoon. An event like that doesn't tend to put one in the best of spirits."  
  
"Tell me why you keep running away."  
  
Lara paused a moment, removing her gaze from his, peering off into the distance. "I'm really not in the mood to discuss this right now, Kurtis. I'm off to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She hesitated again, her eyes straying back to his own again, holding that intense cerulean gaze for a moment. "I've seen a lot of friends die recently. I'd like to say I've gotten used to it, but I'm afraid that's something you never quite get used to."  
  
Then, rising slightly on tip-toe, she placed a soft kiss on his mouth and retrieved her towel from his slack fingertips, twining it around her voluptuous figure before padding silently away. 


	4. Note

Ok, I don't know how many of you actually remember this story since it's been sooooo long since I've updated, and I'm sorry for those of you who do remember it and got your hopes up thinking I was finally FINALLY posting a new chapter. As is fairly obvious, this is certainly not a new installment to the story, and after this, there will be no more has gotten a tad frustrating for me,although now that I'm adding this, I see that the formatting structure has been changed a bit. Damn,have I been a way for a while! I will be more than likely posting another work of mine once it's finished, but that will be in a different section and doesn't concern any of you unless you are fans of the RPG game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. So anywho, back to the main point. ;)

This story has NOT been abandoned, and in fact there is a lot more to it than has been posted here. I'm putting this note up to inform anyone who would like to read the rest of this story that they may e-mail me with a request for this story and I will send it to the interested party as an attached Word document. But please realize that while there is a significant chunk of Fallen In Light not displayed here, it is still a work in progress and I haven't a clue when it will be finished. So please, be patient with me, as I've got about a million different stories floating around and I'm now also working a full time job which doesn't allow me as much time for my writing as I would enjoy.

Also, for those of you interested, I have another novel-length Tomb Raider work in progress, as well as a short story that will hopefully be completed soon. (Keep in mind that 'short' in Horsecrazy terms equates to about 60 pages, give or take.) If you'd like to read some more of my work, just send me an e-mail, tell me what you want to see (everything, or just the rest of Fallen In Light,) and I'll get it to you as soon as possible. I can send any future Tomb Raider works to you, too, if you'd like. Just give me the 411 on what you'd like to see in your inbox.

Thank you all for reading, and thanks to my reviewers for encouraging me. :D


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